Last time it was in San Mateo, my children were smaller and more likely to bolt in a crowd, my husband was working 100 hours a week at a startup, and negotiating a few free hours on the weekends was, well, let’s just leave it as unlikely. So on the Sunday afternoon of Expo weekend, my husband took two of the boys, I loaded my most amenable child into the minivan, and we flew over to the convention center. Well, maybe not flew exactly, but we got there during daylight hours.

We parked, jumped out of the car, and, encouraged by all the happy people carrying bags and boxes of goodies, planned a frantic run around the Expo floor. Only to have the gate LITERALLY shut in our faces. I was upset and my son, who fully expected to be paid for his cooperation in unlimited GF cookies, burst into tears.

Curses. I hadn’t checked the Sunday timings (it ended at 3pm, not 4 or 5, like I’d assumed) and vowed I wouldn’t repeat the mistake next year. Little did I know it would take several years for the Expo to roll back to the Bay Area.

So, if you are a gluten-free foodie in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, learn from my mistake. Go!!! But get there before 3 on Sunday.

It’s coming up the weekend of November 18-19 at the San Mateo Event Center. Saturday 10-4 and Sunday 10-3. Parking is $12.

There will be classes on Saturday in association with Stanford Children’s Health, including discussion of more advanced dietary intervention like a low FODMAPS diet, allergy and immunology and non-dietary therapies under development.

Plus all the goodies! Schar, Udi’s, Glutino, Enjoy Life Foods, Daiya, and many, MANY other vendors will be there. I’m always on the lookout for exactly these kinds foods!

I WILL be there this time! In fact, I should be breezing in right after the doors open. And I’m going as an official event blogger! I’ll post pictures of my favorite finds here, on Instagram, and on the Recovery Road Facebook page.